My Recent Comments

And sadhbh, don't kill me for my lack of reviewing.  I'm about to post a few now, and I still have a bunch to type up from my vacation (I read 8 books when I was away---woo-hoo!!)

But yeah, CP's.  I definitely can't work with someone who doesn't get me.  I tried that once, and the relationship not only ended badly, but I found my writing suffered from it too.  I kept trying to change my voice to suit her suggestions, and it ended up sucking badly for a while.

One of my CP's writes for Desire and the other for Blaze (hi, Lori!!) and though my Desire CP writes very different stories from mine, she still gets my voice, appreciates my humor and doesn't try to "change" my work.  That's another turn-off, a CP who rewrites entire scenes for you--um, why don't you just write the book then?

As for editors, I'm just starting out, so I don't know yet if my editors "get" me.  They seem to like my books, so I guess that means they do, but I'm also learning a ton from them.  It's really cool to see what they're looking for, hear their suggestions--they really know their stuff.  Same thing with my CP's--most of the time I get a crit and I'm like, "You're right, that works WAY better!"  I always trust Lori and Jen to help me produce the best book I possibly can!

Oh, and I forgot--my first e-release got a horrible review from a particular reviewer.  she gave it 40-something out of a 100, trashed the whole story, and I was moping about it for days.  so when I say negative reviews, I don't mean ones that say stuff like "although the pacing was slow and the plot hard to understand at times, the characters were really fun and..."etc.   See, those reviews are fine with me, because at least both good and bad points are addressed.

By negative I mean the reviews that pretty much say your book sucked and there were no redeeming aspects to it.  Those are the ones that hurt

"You can be polite and still offer a critical point of view (which is not the same as negative IMO), while also saying that you acknowledge that it is only your opinion."

French, I totally agree with that.  If I'm reviewing something on my blog, or for a review site, then I'll be honest about what worked for me and what didn't.  But I think when I'm blogging on certain sites, especially publisher ones, it's best to keep the negative reviews to myself.  What I think might just be minor criticism might seem like a total trashing to someone else and it's also so hard to get a point across when you're writing it and not saying it verbally--I've seen tons of people start beefs with each other because one person's comment came off as rude or sarcastic, when that probably wasn't their intention but looked like it when typed out.

Sometimes that drives me crazy, when people pick up sarcasm in something I wrote, and I have to say, "No honest, I was being serious!"  Anyone else ever share that problem?

Honestly, I think the scary movie sound guys are totally underappreciated.  Would Jaws have been as scary without that music?  Honestly, every time I hear the creepy music start I sit there all tense, waiting for something horrible to happen.  This is why I don't watch horror movies.

They really do.  That's why I stopped reading Stephen King and Doon Koontz before I went to bed.  There was this one King story--The Langoliers.  Anyone read it?  it was a novella, part of an anthology, I think.  There was also a TV movie made of it, and both the book and film scared the daylights out of me! 

The story was about people on an airplane who suddenly find the entire world has disappeared and these weirdo creatures are trying to eat the world.  My lord!  For weeks after, every time the house was a little too quiet I'd think the world was gone and have to call someone to make sure I wasn't going crazy...

And don't get me started on the Shining.  Even thinking about it gets me creeped out.  Nightmares for weeks thanks to that one.

don't say anything at all.  That's my policy. 

There are obviously going to be books that I don't enjoy (you can't love everything you read) but I'm not the type of person who will go out and write a scathing review just because i happened to hate the book.  Obviously other people had to have liked it (the person who wrote it, the person who bought it, the person who edited, etc.) and just because I don't share their opinion doesn't mean I'm going to go out and trash the story.  If I don't like something, I just won't blog about it. :)

As for my writing friends, I"m with Lori on the auto-buy issue.  Some people have been pretty great to me in my struggle to get published, and I buy their books to support them the way they supported me.  I"ll be honest, I haven't yet come across a book written by a writing friend that I've hated, but if I did, I wouldn't stop buying their stuff.  I'm sure at some point in my career someone will hate something I wrote, and I wouldn't want to be written off because of one not-so-great  book...

But sooner or later I'll have to come down, especially since i have two manuscripts to submit for April and May.  I've got edits comin' out of my a#@!

I'm not sure when the book will be released.  The title (for now...?) is Strings Attached, but I have a feeling it'll have to be changed to something hockey related, since the hero is a hockey player.  I should have called it Body Check!

here's a little blurb:

When Hayden Houston decides to indulge in a night of wild, no-strings sex, the last thing she expects is for her one-time lover to demand more.  Pro hockey player Brody Croft was supposed to be the perfect candidate for a one-night-stand, so why is he determined to get her into bed again?  And why does she get the feeling that the longer he hangs around, the harder she’ll fall for him?

"When you decide to do it, girl, you really DO IT, don't you? LOL"

LOL, Sam!  I always have been an overachiever...

And Sadbhb, don't worry, those are the only two lines I submitted to!  I love them both, and I'm thrilled to have two books coming out for two lines that are so unbelievably awesome.  And yes, that's why I haven't been blogging, but I do have about a dozen books I've read recently that I need to blog about.  My goal is to sit down tonight and pound out a ton of reviews

 I'm still a little shocked.  When Brenda Chin called yesterday I figured it was to tell me the story wasn't right for Blaze. I always tend to pack too much suspense in the Blazes I submit, so I'm glad I finally came up with a story that "blazes" LOL!

2008 is the best year ever!

 

"Yes, here on the Harlequin blogs, there are no one-sided love affairs.  Both parties have to concur that they are, indeed, friends to make that connection. "

Don't be a smart a#@